yeah, I was thinking along this lines as well. I mean sure Raditz got what was coming to him but if you look how many others were treated it does seem unfair - he never really got a chance

Guest chapter 1 . 5/18/2016

Maybe this can go on, please? Ok, I know the earth dragonballs have a 1 year revival warranty (or however you would word it) but Namek's I'm not sure

Guest chapter 1 . 8/23/2015

If the thoughts expressed by Vegeta in this are the actual thoughts of the author then you clearly weren't paying much attention to that part of the show. There was no other way around it, either Raditz died or Goku, Piccolo and everyone else on Earth died. Those were the only two options. In the case of Vegeta and Frieza both were already beaten and too weak to be any more of an immediate threat so Goku was able to take pity on them, he did not have that same luxury with Raditz because Raditz was still in control up until the point he was killed.

gothicthundra chapter 1 . 8/16/2015

tears... snot filled tears... in less than a thousand words... tears...

Hmmm. I'm not sure I can fully agree with all of the sentiments here. While you (Vegeta) bring up a lot of good points about how Goku was likely shocked and vulnerable from what Raditz brought, this piece glosses over the very real fact that, as the series presented it, Raditz was just too strong - Goku dying might not seem like a big deal in light of how death becomes something of a joke later on in DBZ, but considering death was still sort of a big deal at that point in the series, the fact that it took Goku dying and his former archenemy's help to take down Raditz says a lot. In that scenario, at that time, there truly was no other way.

There's also this to consider - when Goku beat Frieza, he was stronger than Frieza and could have killed him if he didn't turn his life around. That's what happened, after all. With Vegeta, the guy was practically dying (and Goku didn't know about the "Saiyan's get stronger from near death" thing yet) and Goku was never one for needless violence. That's the key difference here. With Raditz, he and Piccolo were NOT stronger than Raditz. Raditz was going to kill them. He was destroying the two of them and he would have likely then gone on to exterminate life on Earth. They had to stop him.

That aside, this doesn't change the fact that Goku never revisits the issue later on, especially when he's dead and could have possible actually met Raditz at some point. Of course, DBZ isn't exactly a huge story for character depth and drama, but still.

In any case, it's an all in all an interesting and thought provoking read, but I'm not sure I can agree with the premise (that Goku could have spared Raditz), even if the message is sound.

Oh yes. I've always thought the reason Goku killed Radditz and never seemed to have so much of a second thought about it was because Radditz is one of the few people who ever REALLY scared Goku. I think Radditz terrified him. He came completely out of the blue. No warning, no warming up to it. Just BANG! Super surprise emotional gut punches! You're not the strongest any more! Your lineage is one of death! Your a different species to all of your friends! You have a blood relative and he's big and strong and wants to kill all your friends and maybe your son! And maybe, when you look at him, you see what you might have been and what you still could be. Or maybe Goku just never wished him back because, while he often lets an enemy go who is still alive after a beating, he doesn't appear to have ever lost any sleep over the people he killed. Thinking about it, is Radditz the last person Goku kills without being pushed to it? Maybe that's the difference between his easily killing RR army guys as a kid and not wanting to kill as an adult: He doesn't ever want to become his brother. Hehehe, I can keep psychoanalysing this all evening! I enjoyed the story.

Goku has spared and offered forgiveness to the worst of foes: Vegeta, Ginyu, Frieza, Cell, and even Majin Buu but not his own brother who you could argue he killed in cold blood.

All these people Goku has met and spared underwent some kind of arc but Raditz never did. Killed off and was never mentioned again after the Sayian Saga. This showed a part of Goku something he was not used to being. VULNERABLE. He killed his own brother because he was too scared to face the truth about his existence and who he was and never thought to consider that maybe Raditz never really wanted to hurt Goku and just was looking for the brother he thought he had lost forever.

And THAT's the worst part. WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. Raditz had alot of potential being the older brother of Goku that will now go unrealized.

Not only did Goku kill Raditz, but he also killed himself; so in a way, it's like he was desperately trying to clean the slate and literally had Piccolo kill two birds with one stone.

There are no words to convey just how powerful this short story was; for those that didn't notice this particular behavior from Goku will sure as hell notice now and the whole DBZ universe will take on a whole new meaning.

Loved it; faved it.

Guest chapter 1 . 4/11/2013

Well, this is sweet. But since Vegeta killed Nappa AGAIN in GT, I don't think he cares much at all. And he probably cares even LESS for Raditz, seeing as Nappa was his babysitter for 25 years, and Raditz was a random third class he had deemed too weak to survive.